Deja Coleman

Gender: FemaleStyle: Color realms Realm Palette Texture Line Dad's side (Washingtons, Atlanta) Ochre, burnt orange, gold light, mahogany Linocut grain, carved patterns in borders Bold, confident ink Mom's side (Millers) Sage, muted pastels, slate grey Soft watercolor washes, white space Fine, delicate pen School and Brookfield Hills Stark black and white Flat, hard lighting, no gradients Ruled, geometric Maya's sketchbook Every palette at once Mixed media, tape, smudges Loose, alive Fading rules Maya fades when she is pulled to pick a side or erases herself to fit. It happens in four stages, and readers should learn to read them. 1. Drain: her color desaturates toward grey; nobody notices yet. 2. Thin: her ink outline breaks into dashed, hesitant strokes. 3. Graphite: she becomes a faint pencil sketch; objects slip through her fingers. 4. Blank: only construction lines and eraser smudges remain. Reserved for the climax. She recovers when someone sees her whole, or when she makes something true. Color returns from the point of contact (a hand on her shoulder, a brush on her skin) and spreads outward. Recurring motifs • The sketchbook: a battered black hardcover covered in stickers from Philadelphia. Its pages are the one place every palette mixes. • Javier's viewfinder: panels framed through his camera are grainy film photographs, and the lens always shows Maya fully inked, even when the world can't. • Hair: touched, discussed, judged, and finally simply hers. • Marcus's piano: jazz notation drifts through panels as warm gold lettering when he plays. Cast quick reference Character Age Visual anchor Maya Washington 15 Big curly hair often pinned up with pencils, oversized flannel, paint on her cuticles Sarah Miller-Washington 44 Tidy linen, garden gloves in her back pocket, reading glasses on her head Marcus Washington 46 Cardigans, close-cropped beard going grey, always tapping a rhythm Grandma Eleanor (Nanna) 72 Pearl earrings, pressed blouses, hands that are always busy with something Aunt Debra 49 Locs wrapped in bright fabric, clipboard energy, a laugh that fills a panel Javier Reyes 15 Thrifted film camera on a frayed strap, quiet, notices everything Deja Coleman 16 Debate team captain, sharp, kinder than she lets on Brynn Halvorsen 15 Neighbor girl, sunny, asks the worst questions with total sincerity

Appearance

A sixteen-year-old Black girl with a lean, upright build and a square-oval face. Her deep auburn-black microbraids are gathered into a low, controlled knot, leaving a clean line around her forehead and ears. Sharp dark eyes, straight brows, and a firm mouth give her an assessing expression, softened by a brief warmth around the eyes. She stands with economical stillness and carries herself with the disciplined focus of someone accustomed to choosing precise words.

Current outfit

Structured navy blazer over a white cotton shirt, charcoal pleated trousers, polished black loafers, small silver hoop earrings, and a slim debate notebook